Fall Food Lit Preview: "Save the Deli" by David Sax
In Save the Deli: In Search of Perfect Pastrami, Crusty Rye, and the Heart of the Jewish Delicatessen, journalist David Sax, dubbed "the M.F.K. Fisher of pickled meats," sets out on an entertaining yet often elegiac journey to chronicle an endangered cuisine. Sax kicks things off with an endearing story about his grandfather, who celebrated his discharge from the hospital (where he was being treated for angina) with a mile-high smoked meat sandwich which turned out to be his last meal. Sax then spends time covering the history of delis in New York, even taking a shift behind the counter at Katz's, and chronicles the 2nd Ave Deli's sudden, and much-mourned closure. Then he takes a three-month cross-country tour following the deli trail with stops in New Orleans, Detroit (and nearby Zingerman's in Ann Arbor), Florida, San Francisco, Kansas City, and more. (Mel Brooks makes a cameo in the section on Los Angeles along with Mr. T.: "Anyone who says deli is bad for you: I pity the fool!") He even stamps his passport for an international take in Montreal, Toronto, London, Paris, and Krakow.
The current state of the Jewish deli is telling when Sax offers that the working title for his book was The Death of the Deli. But, just as the famed 2nd Ave Deli reopened after closing the doors on their landmark Lower East Side eatery, the love for deli rose up like a pastrami phoenix. The line out of the door of eager eaters with a passion for cured meat, chopped liver, and knishes should serve as inspiration to keep this cuisine alive and well. The detailed listing of delis in the back of the book should be laminated and kept on hand when traveling.
Recommended for fans of Sweet and Low: A Family Story and 500 Things to Eat Before It's Too Late.
--BTP
Tracy Schneider on September 15, 2009 at 04:41 PM
I can't wait to get my hands on this! What a great way to cross the country, traveling from one deli to the next.
dvd vierge on September 15, 2009 at 11:59 PM
David Sax is obsessed with Jewish delis. Like many he decided to turn his obsession into a book. Save the Deli is a history of Jewish delicatessens as well as a restaurant guide.
Sax includes his own personal experience of working in a deli as well as many interviews with owners, customers, and more. The restaurant guide includes many American and world delis. There is also a food and Yiddish dictionary.
This book would make an excellent gift for the person whose favorite restaurant is a deli. It would have been nice for Sax to have included some recipes, especially from restaurants long gone, but he still did an excellent job of recreating the atmosphere of Jewish delis. Finally, reading the book will definitely make you hungry!